Tag: #sciencefiction

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.She’s telepathic. He’s mute. Minefield’s new team is playing for the long game: Freedom.

There’s a new breed of human. The government, fearing these new “Enhanced” beings, forced entire families into the isolation of exiled communities. Under constant supervision, they were forbidden to leave. Ever.

Nathalee Dae always thought she’d be compelled to settle for a half life, saddled with a telepathic ability she didn’t want, in a town she couldn’t escape. But one meeting with a mysterious mute man thrusts Nat in a direction she never thought to move. Now on an elite enforcement team, maybe Nat can make a difference.

Tempers and abilities clash as the new enforcement team comes together. Immediately, they are tasked to unravel a treacherous thread. One nobody knew existed, resulting in vicious and violent events.

When reality and deception weave a tangled web, Nat will need to be able to tell fact from fiction or her first investigation will be her last.

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Getting to Eden brought Emmett and his crewmates one step closer to their promised fortune. But surviving Eden may be the biggest reward of all. Discover book two in the trilogy Marie Lu called, “a high-octance thriller.”

Emmett Atwater thought Babel’s game sounded easy. Get points. Get paid. Go home. But it didn’t take long for him to learn that Babel’s competition was full of broken promises, none darker or more damaging than the last one.

Now Emmett and the rest of the Genesis survivors must rally and forge their own path through a new world. Their mission from Babel is simple: extract nyxia, the most valuable material in the universe, and play nice with the indigenous Adamite population.

But Emmett and the others quickly realize they are caught between two powerful forces–Babel and the Adamites–with clashing desires. Will the Genesis team make it out alive before it’s too late?

Could Scott Reintgen really write a book as good as Nyxia? Would Nyxia Unleashed suffer from “second book syndrome”? Or would Nyxia Unleashed be just as good, if not better than Nyxia?

These are the questions we had ever since we heard about the upcoming “Nyxia Unleashed” release. Well, guess what…Nyxia Unleashed was TERRIFIC!!! It was EXTRAORDINARY!!! If you loved Nyxia you’re going to LOVE Nyxia Unleashed!!!

The story begins where the kids land on the planet, Magnia. The protagonist in this, Emmett, is such an amazing character! In fact both main characters, Emmett & Morning (I totally ship them) were amazing main characters! Morning was my favorite character. But I like many of the characters in this story! They all come from very different backgrounds, that have made them who they are. They develop friendships and come to rely on each other like a family. Scott Reintgen did an excellent job with his characters.

But he also did an amazing job with world building. Being on another planet, seeing the wildlife, it’s dangers and it’s beauty. It was all fascinating. Actually learning more about all the things Nyxia could do was fascinating too.

I’m trying not to say too much here. So I’ll just say, It’s a wonderful YA SciFi book! I highly recommend it!!! Now I’ll be eagerly anticipating book 3!!!

In a future where violence is encouraged and duels are required by law, Dathin Long has the answer: devolution. He proposes a medical procedure that will restore humanity to the state of primal bliss—to pure reptilian instinct, before guilty consciences intruded.

When a boy’s grandmother is admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, he learns the procedure will be forced upon her. To save her, the boy enlists the help of Lee Bellows, a member of the hospital staff, to search the records and find his grandmother. But the deeper Lee looks, the more horrible things he finds, until the controllers start looking back at him. His conscience needs adjusting, and soon the procedure may be forced upon him.

In a flooded New Orleans in the end days, the only hope is a hero who’s lost his memory and is just trying to get by…

Beaird Glover grew up on a farm in rural Tennessee. He graduated from The Evergreen State College of Olympia, Washington, with a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing. He then moved to Southern California and wrote Secret Ciphers of the 1876 Presidential Election (Aegean Park Press). He has traveled extensively and lived in eleven of the United Sates, and Taipei and Buenos Aires. His poems have been published in the New York Quarterly and his chapbook of poetry was selected by the Austin Chronicle as one of the Top 10 Best of 1994. More recently, he acquired a Bachelor of Science degree from Long Island University in Brooklyn and has worked as a physician assistant. Beaird lives in New Orleans with his wife Kim and their cats.

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Dusty Johnson, a self-styled ordinary, everyday woman, responds with extraordinary heroism to saboteurs trying to bomb the prototype of Earth’s first starship. She wants to return to anonymity, but her moment of courage propels her ever deeper into danger that tears the scabs off her dark past—and thrusts her into the arms of the unattainable man of her dreams.

Reese Eaglesbrood, an alien prince, yearns to restore his tattered reputation by guiding the starship project to completion, but his fascination with the unassuming heroine threatens to undermine his fragile authority. Shunning Dusty is necessary, yet unthinkable—and when the saboteurs strike again, she may be his only ally against Earth’s darkest enemies.

This book was a pleasant surprise for me!! It was a lot of fun! It covers a number of genres. It is action packed, full of adventure, suspense, mystery, romance, sci-fi, humor and so much more! Like I said, it was a lot of fun!

The beginning starts out with a bang, I couldn’t put it down! And even though there were times that the book wasn’t as adventurous or action packed, it kept my interest throughout. I’m telling you…I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN!!!

The characters were really well written. I loved seeing Dusty and Reese’s relationship develop. The romance in this book was so good! I WANT MORE OF DUSTY AND REESE!!!!

Also, I enjoyed the alien part of it too, reading about their backgrounds and how they came to be on earth was really good.

Though this is the 4th book in a series, it can be read as a standalone (as I did). But after reading it, I now want to know more about the other characters that had their own stories. I definitely recommend this, and I plan on reading more books from this series. Edward Hoornaert has won me over as a fan!!!

Edward Hoornaert (a.k.a. Mr. Valentine) is not only a writer, he’s a certifiable Harlequin Hero; he inspired N.Y. Times bestselling author Vicki Lewis Thompson to write her favorite Harlequin Desire, “Mr. Valentine”, which was dedicated to him. In the past, he wrote contemporary romances for Silhouette Books, but these days he writes science fiction adventures—usually with elements of romance. In addition to novelist, he has been a teacher, technical writer, salesman, waiter, janitor, and symphonic oboist.

After having 30 different addresses in his first 28 years, his rolling stone slowed in the mountains of British Columbia and stopped in Tucson, Arizona. His high school sweetheart has been his wife for more years than he has fingers and toes to count. Ed and Judi have four children, a dog, and the galaxy’s most delightful grandsons.

Like this:

I can’t recall whose idea it was. Just that me and mis amigas were sick of wading through yet another unjust punishment detail. So we decide to take ourselves off on a short jaunt to the lower reaches of Space Station Hawking to prove that fertile Iberian girls can also deal with danger.

The consequences of that single expedition change the lives of all four of us, as well as that of the stranger who steps in to save us down in lawless Basement Level. Now I have more excitement and danger than I can handle, while confronting lethal shipboard politics, kidnapping, betrayal. And murder.

When I first started reading this I found it kind of hard to connect and get involved in the story. It was slow going. But, I have to say this may be because of coming down from a book hangover or even my mood. I did have a bit of a book hangover before I started this one. So, I would never take stars off for my problems getting into it, because most likely it was not the failing of the author.

Elizabeth or Lizzy, as she is most commonly referred to, is a wonderful protagonist. My favorite kind actually, because though she is a strong person, she is also very real and flawed and weak at times. She is someone I feel I can truly relate to, I feel like I can step in to her character and live through her eyes as I read the book. I laughed with her, struggled with her, rolled my eyes, flushed my cheeks, fell in love, held back my tears, then cried them into my pillow with her. Lizzy was a character who went through so much, and came out of it with tremendous growth in a short period of time. I thought this book excelled in character development, which makes me happy because I’m totally a character driven reader.

As far as world building, I struggled a little with picturing the surroundings. And in science fiction world development is usually dominant, which can drive me crazy. I like to be able to picture the surroundings, but I don’t need to know all the technical details. Sometimes I felt myself able to picture things better than others. So, I’m not saying it’s non-existent here, but I would like to have had a little more.

But over all the book works. The strong characters really carry the book, especially Lizzy. I’m so glad I had that opportunity to be able to read it!! I’m looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

S.J. Higbee
Born the same year as the Russians launched Sputnik, I confidently expected that by the time I reached adulthood, the human race would have a pioneer colony on the Moon and be heading off towards Mars. So I was at a loss to know what to do once I realised the Final Frontier wasn’t an option and rather lost my head – I tried a lot of jobs I didn’t and married a totally unsuitable man.

Now I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’ll never leave Earth, I have a lovely time writing science fiction novels and teaching Creative Writing at Northbrook College in Worthing. I live in Littlehampton on the English south coast with a wonderful husband and a ridiculous number of books.

They came from another world to protect her. Now it’s her destiny to save them …

Tori King is a normal senior in high school. Head over heels in love with her childhood sweetheart, she is busy making plans for college when a chance encounter with an alien bounty hunter turns her world upside down. Now, she’s experiencing terrifying changes and developing supernatural abilities that leave her questioning her entire existence.

Then the arrival of four hot new guys at school has everyone talking—especially when they become fixated on Tori, following her wherever she goes. She can’t shake them off, and as they grow closer, she finds herself drawn to all four of them in ways she cannot explain.

When they finally reveal their true identity, and why they’re here for her, she discovers everything she thought she knew about herself is a lie.

Because there is nothing normal about Tori King.

And she’s about to discover exactly how underrated normal is.

…This mind-bending alien reverse harem series is only suitable for readers aged seventeen and older due to language and mature content

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MY REVIEW

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! It was a lot of fun! Tori discovering she was an alien, finding out she has four gorgeous alien protectors that she is bound to (oh my!), having to try and accept this and balance it with her “human” life…and so much more that I won’t say because SPOILERS!

At first it’s mostly in Tori’s voice. Then as the guys come into it more there are chapters in each of their voices, helping us to get to know the four of them. I think as the series continues we will continue to get to know them, and relationships will develop more. They are very protective of Tori and their connection to her affects them in ways they didn’t expect.

I loved some of sarcasm in the book. Between the guys, they get pretty funny. But also Tori when she was fighting she would get real sarcastic, kind of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Lol!!

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This is my stop during the book blitz for Rescuing Prince Charming by Edward Hoornaert. This book blitz is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 28 November till 11 December. See the tour schedule here.

Blurb:
Dusty Johnson, a self-styled ordinary, everyday woman, responds with extraordinary heroism to saboteurs trying to bomb the prototype of Earth’s first starship. She wants to return to anonymity, but her moment of courage propels her ever deeper into danger that tears the scabs off her dark past—and thrusts her into the arms of the unattainable man of her dreams.

Reese Eaglesbrood, an alien prince, yearns to restore his tattered reputation by guiding the starship project to completion, but his fascination with the unassuming heroine threatens to undermine his fragile authority. Shunning Dusty is necessary, yet unthinkable—and when the saboteurs strike again, she may be his only ally against Earth’s darkest enemies.

About the Author:
What kind of guy writes romance? A guy who married his high school sweetheart a week after graduation and still lives the HEA decades later. A guy who’s a certifiable Harlequin hero—he inspired Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Rita Award finalist Mr. Valentine, which is dedicated to him.

Ed started out writing contemporary romances for Silhouette Books, but these days he concentrates on science fiction romance. He’s been a teacher, principal, technical writer, salesman, janitor, and symphonic oboist. He and wife Judi live in Tucson, Arizona. They have three sons, a daughter, a mutt, and the galaxy’s most adorable grandson.

Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the book blitz of Rescuing Prince Charming. These are the prizes you can win:
– Grand prize: e-book copies of the other three books in this series: Alien Contact for Idiots, Alien Contact for Kid Sisters and Newborn
– 2 winners win an e-book of their choice from any of the following three books: Alien Contact for Idiots, Alien Contact for Kid Sisters and Newborn

Before the Vela invasion, Rhyan’s biggest concern was getting through a day of school. But when she is thrust into the madness of a kill-or-be-killed world, her true strength emerges and a deadly warrior is unleashed. Stumbling through the new morals of a post-apocalyptic world, she learns to depend only on herself. As she gets closer to discovering what the aliens actually want, her lethality becomes unmatched, and she soon learns the extent she’ll go to in order to survive.

Blurb:
As a rogue government official orders an alien attack on the Empire of America, two women must uncover the government’s dark truth and unravel the weave of lives that have spanned decades. They’ll learn why alien-human hybrids were created, and will need to master their own alien powers in order to survive.
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Genetic testing on humans began during the Cold War, when ancient alien DNA was discovered in the artic. As super soldiers were created during the war, Americans soon began to create the first wave of alien-human-hybrids in preparation for the day when the aliens would strike.

Nearly a century on, the world has been broken by an extra-terrestrial war and Kit Valletta is a human-mutant trying to survive in one of the only free zones left in the Empire. But the President wants her dead and is going to stop at nothing until all the mutants Kit freed are back in her control.

When Kit meets Evie Fox, one of the President’s scientists, who’s broken free of the wire, the two begin their fight for freedom and justice as the alien attack hits Empire soil. Together, both women will need to accept the secrets they’ve been trying to hide and decide if they’re the ones who are powerful enough to save the Empire from the President’s dictatorship regime and alien invasion.

About the Author:
S.A. Stephenson is a sci-fi author, blogger and editor. She writes LGBTQ+ stories about kickass women and can be found hanging out at writing events in Auckland. She’s originally from the UK but now calls New Zealand home.

This is my stop during the blog tour for Running Out of Space by S.J. Higbee. This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 11 till 31 October. You can check see the tour schedule here.

Blurb:Elizabeth Wright has yearned to serve on the space merchant ship Shooting Star for as long as she can remember – until one rash act changes everything…

I can’t recall whose idea it was. Just that me and my shipmates were sick of wading through yet another unjust punishment detail. So we decide to take ourselves off on a short jaunt to the lower reaches of Space Station Hawking to prove that fertile English girls can also deal with danger.

The consequences of that single expedition change the lives of all four of us, as well as that of the stranger who steps in to save us down in lawless Basement Level. Now I have more excitement and danger than I can handle, while confronting lethal shipboard politics, kidnapping, betrayal. And murder.

Buy Running Out of Space for only $0.99!
You can buy Running Out of Space for only $0.99 on Amazon!

About the Author:
Born the same year as the Russians launched Sputnik, I confidently expected that by the time I reached adulthood, the human race would have a pioneer colony on the Moon and be heading off towards Mars. So I was at a loss to know what to do once I realised the Final Frontier wasn’t an option and rather lost my head – I tried a lot of jobs I didn’t like and married a totally unsuitable man.

Now I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’ll never leave Earth, I have a lovely time writing science fiction and fantasy novels while teaching Creative Writing at Northbrook College in Worthing. I’ve had a number of short stories, articles and poems published – the most recent being my story ‘Miranda’s Tempest’ which appeared last year in Fox Spirit’s anthology Eve of War. I recently signed a publishing contract with Grimbold Publishing for my science fiction novel Netted, which is due to be released in 2019.

Names are important in any novel, but I happen to think that in a science fiction book they are crucial as they are part of the worldbuilding so I give a lot of thought and some research into the names I give my characters. Here are ten of the names that occur in my book and the reasoning behind them.

• Elizabeth Sarah Jane Violet Wright – Elizabeth/Liz/Lizzy is the narrator and main protagonist of this story so it is vital to get her name nailed. She is part of an English space merchanting family, whose ancestors left Earth after being made homeless when a swathe of southern Britain was flooded. Like many displaced people, the English Deep-space community cling to a cultural identity they feel defines them from others around them. So Elizabeth’s names are all very traditional. The fact she has four forenames shows her parents are pretentious about their social standing – and that final forename plays a crucial role in one of the decisions Elizabeth makes during the story.

• Captain John David Wright – Elizabeth’s father is captain of Shooting Star, their merchanting ship that provides regular shipments of weapons and supplies
to the Peace and Prosperity Corps, a mercenary band. He is also part of the English community, an ex-mercenary who is ultra-traditional in his thinking about the role of women. His name is so English, there is a possibility that he has reinvented himself at some stage, complete with a very suitable name.

• General William Norman – This is not his original name. General Norman runs the Peace and Prosperity Corp which is the largest and best equipped mercenary outfit in Sector Two. They have strong ties to the English community, as many of their recruits come from Englandia. However they’ll take anyone who shows an aptitude for violence. Norman is modelling himself on William the Conqueror in his choice of name.

• Alisha Patel – Alisha is one of Elizabeth’s friends on board Shooting Star, who accompanies her on the disastrous expedition to Basement Level on Space Station Hawking. Alisha’s name and heritage reflects the wide diversity of people and culture who were living in London before it drowned and her grandmother Nanny Patel is the most powerful woman on Shooting Star and someone who Elizabeth very much admires.

• Garion Wynn – He is the man who rescues the girls from Basement Level and gets them back to the ship. A refugee caught up in the hurried evacuations across a swathe of Sector Two after the aliens insisted that all humans leave, he has lost pretty much everything other than his sculpting tools. His surname is apparently English, though Garion is more a more common name among the space workers – not that Wynn knows as he was raised in an orphanage.

• Lnard Farview – This is the Procurement Officer on board Shooting Star and Elizabeth’s superior officer. He is very much an outsider – something apparent from his name. Lnard is a blended name, which is typically popular with spacer families who live and work on ships, space stations or mining outposts. Most of these families have surnames reflecting their origins as construction workers on the numerous outposts and stations in the big push off Earth, with names such as Moon, Sunseeker and Starbloom.

• Gregor Campbell – This is Captain Wright’s second in command on Shooting Star. He dislikes Elizabeth, seeing her as a bad influence on his daughter Sonja, who is another of the girls who accompanied Elizabeth to Basement Level. The excursion changes her life as she finds her vocation after experiencing the abject poverty in the lower reaches of Hawking. The names reflect their ethnic origins before they found themselves in southern England, though this time that is celebrated in their forenames, rather than their surnames. Elizabeth also knows Sonja’s aunt, who comes in from time to time to help her mother look after the family. Aunty Oksana is someone that Elizabeth comes to trust and rely on, though she isn’t a blood relative and in the end, that matters.

I have really enjoyed writing this article and many thanks to Donna for raising such an interesting topic – character names are always a topic that occupies authors. If anyone has any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below and I’d be happy to answer them.

We are Brenda, Norma and Lindsay and we are The Traveling Sisters. We read and review together. We are the hosts to The Traveling Sisters & Friends Goodreads Reading Groups and The Traveling Friends Instagram Reading Group.